Mini-modding

[Nix_Hex]

NOTE: Before you read, it is not the purpose of this thread to criticize the moderators on Shoddy Battle or anywhere else!

I'm pretty sure we all have noticed that the Smogon University Shoddy Battle server chat has become a huge joke. The volume of GROSS sex-related discussions (often related to bestiality/sex with Pokémon), racism, hate speak, etc. is downright disturbing. There have been numerous threads about the above relating to the consistency/activity of the various moderators on the server, but this isn't necessarily about that. Also, I post this here and not in the Shoddy Battle forum because I'm sure this goes on the irc channel, which I do not go on.

Luckily, users who make numerous accounts and spam "(BAN ME PLEASE) (BAN ME PLEASE) (BAN ME PLEASE) (BAN ME PLEASE)" x 10^4, are swiftly banned, but I see a lot of more "subtle" (aka not in all caps) hate/racist speak going unpunished. It's usually riddled with spelling errors and tasteless stereotypes, and is simply rude. At the very least, it makes the chat scroll needlessly, and nobody wants that.

My REAL question, though, is this:
Is there a point where mini-modding is justified?

I personally believe that there is a difference between tattling and an outcry for help. However, I hate to become a nuisance and start issuing warnings when I have absolutely no place to do so. Is it better to tell a user to "shut up" than to say "mod please ban/kick (insert racist troll here)?" Or should I just not say anything? Tell me your ideas.

 

[Alexa888]

Mini-modding achieves nothing. It just looks pathetic when people put 'Not mini-modding, but' and then proceed to do the exact opposite. People on Shoddy Battle really don't listen to other users telling them to stop, so a 'shut up' unfortunately isn't going to do much. I do agree though, Shoddy Battle chat is a bit ridiculous.

 

[Stellar]

Quote the rules, but paraphrase them. Informing someone of the rules is not considered mini-modding. Mini-modding is defined as telling a mod what to do. Don't say things like "shut up", it just fans the flames. If no mods respond, PM one explaining the situation. Do not tell a mod to "ban _" or "kick _". In the future, this is better handled in a PM to one of the Shoddy Battle administrators or moderators on the forum, not in Congregation.

 

[VKCA]

The irc channels are not at all like the shoddy battle chat. People go on irc to talk, thats it. That means the SOps, the AOps, and the HOps are all paying attention to the chat, and are ready to kick anybody who even attempts to troll. People go on shoddy to play pokemon, along with the fact that there are probably about 3 mods on at a time compared to the 500 users, it's hard to really do anything about it. Maybe if shoddy battle had a multi-level moderation system, similar to the way it works on irc, the chat wouldn't be full of such crap. Or maybe if more users went on shoddy to discuss pokemon instead of going on #stark to discuss pokemon the shoddy chat wouldn't be full of such crap.

 

[Nix_Hex]

I meant this as an opinion question. I want to know people's stances on tattling/mini-modding in general, hell, in real life also. If this thread is not really conversation or discussion worthy, go ahead and lock it or move it, I honestly won't be offended. Either way, thanks for your responses!

 

[Alan]

just posting to say that rarely does anything like this happen on irc there are always 10+ moderators of some sort on #Stark or #Smogon at a time where they have to deal with around 150 and 100 users on each of the respective channels. a 1/1.5 and 1/10 ratio for #Stark and #Smogon.

Shoddy on the otherhand, there are like 5-8 moderators on at a time, less at different times and, there can be up to 500 users. That means each moderator has to be paying attention to 100 users, which is fairly overwhelming. Even Noah can't handle them all by himself. So naturally stuff will go unnoticed. Also, some, if not all, of the moderators are on Shoddy to battle/ladder. So they will be busy battling and not necessarily paying attention to the chat, so stuff will be unnoticed.

Honestly, my best advice if someone is trolling shoddy with stuff saying how "all black people are worthless (BAN ME PLEASE)s" or "hitler should have finished off the jews" etc. is to just ignore them. If nobody says anything to them, they will stop or go away. There is no point in attempting to troll if nobody is going to bite.

 

[Fishy]

Honestly, if you're going on Shoddy Battle to look for any type of intelligent conversation (anymore), you're simply in the wrong place. I've been using it since around when it first came out, and it was hardly as awful as as it is now, not to say that it was really awful at all back then. But, yeah, the numerous IRC channels this forum/network have created and thrive in are much better avenues to explore if you're looking to actually interact with your peers here. People troll shoddy because they can get away with it, and I've got the feeling that mods don't really "moderate" the place because it's useless: the spammers have reached their majority, and so voices like yours are more readily ignored. As unfortunate as it may be, shoddy chat sucks, but I doubt it'll ever get any better, ESPECIALLY because of all the pokemon/non-pokemon related channels existing on IRC!

 

[Objection]

I meant this as an opinion question. I want to know people's stances on tattling/mini-modding in general, hell, in real life also.

Mini-modding in real life is even less productive than it is on forums and in chatrooms. If someone is doing something and you go "You can't do that it's against the law/rules!", at best you're gonna get told to go to hell, and at worst you'll be ridiculed and/or beaten up. After all, nobody likes some nobody telling them what they can and can't do.

 

[mtr]

Shoddy Battle Chat : Intelligent Discourse :: Mumbai Sewer : Cleanliness

That about sums it up, most of the people that are interested in discussing Pokemon strategy or other things are on IRC.

 

[Nix_Hex]

Honestly, the only reason I care about the state of Shoddy Battle chat is because when I'm waiting a matter minutes for a Ubers battle or for a person taking 2 minutes to make a move, I don't want to stray from Shoddy Battle, as I am not a very good multi-tasker. I pay attention for those rare times when people are discussing strategy and other interesting, productive topics.

 

[Aeolus]

I'd really like to invite anyone who is on Shoddy Battle for the discussion to come to IRC instead. Shoddy is for battling. The chat in a convenience that is sometimes abused. We do what we can to enforce the rules, but obviously you can imagine it quite impossible for us to monitor 400 users attentively 24/7. As far as "mini-modding" goes... as was mentioned before, reminding a user of the rules is not mini-modding. Feel free to do that. There is a line you do not want to cross, however. You should be respectful of all users at all times. If someone is an actual problem, you may report that to a moderator.